The purpose of this application is to further develop risk-markers for individual susceptibility to alcoholism using neuroelectric measures. The motivation for this approach stems from the PI's previous projects on familial alcoholism risk-group status and central nervous system (CNS) function as assessed by event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Recent neuroelectric findings indicate that alcohol consumption levels as well as tobacco smoking status modulate CNS activity. The proposed studies are designed to provide a much needed empirical assessment of well-defined groups of young adults who vary in their typical alcohol "binge" drinking level. All subjects will be screened to eliminate individuals at high-risk for alcoholism by virtue familial incidence in order to reduce neuroelectric variability. As ERP measures are sensitive to smoking status, subjects who have never smoked will be compared to individuals who smoke daily across the drinking levels. Equal numbers of each gender will be employed in each group. STUDY1 will employ affective, working memory, P3a/P3b, error-related negativity (ERN), and EEG paradigms in low, medium, and high binging young adults. STUDY 2 will use the most sensitive of these tasks to assay low- and high-binging young adults before and after a placebo/alcohol challenge protocol, with never-smoked and currently smoking individuals compared. Characterization of the likely differential responsivity to regular ethanol consumption level when tobacco smoking history is controlled will provide highly useful and hitherto unavailable information on how the neuroelectric signatures are affected by these factors. Subsequent control over these variables should substantially enhance the application of straightforward neuroelectric assessment of alcoholism risk and other drug use. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Alcohol and Tobacco CNS Effects in Binge Drinkers The goal of the proposed project is to further develop risk-markers for individual susceptibility to alcoholism by using neuroelectric measures to study binge drinking. The studies are designed to provide an empirical assessment of young adults who vary in their alcohol intake from low, medium, to high "binge" drinking. Subjects who have never smoked tobacco will be compared to individuals who smoke daily across drinking levels, with equal numbers of each gender assessed. Characterization of CNS activity with respect of alcohol binging and smoking history will facilitate subsequent control over these variables and will enhance the application of neuroelectric assessment of alcoholism risk and other drug use.